Creating Link Popularity – Without Getting Banned

By now, most webmasters know that link the hidden wiki popularity is the single
most important factor in driving top search engine rankings. But
did you know that some some links can actually kill your search
engine rankings?

The importance of links has led to the creation of “links
programs” such as LinksToYou and others. If you’re already in a
links program, hold on to your hat, because I’ve got bad news
for you.

How Links Programs Work:
In a links program, every member of the program uploads a page
or pages to their website. These pages carry links to the other
program participants’ websites.

Why They Don’t Help Search Engine Rankings:
All of the major search engines are aware of these programs, and
most of them use automated processes to weed out “identical”
pages. Even if a search engine recognizes the link, they won’t
give it much weight.

How Links Programs Can Kill Your Business:
The most popular search engine in the world today is Google. In
late 2000, Google began a systematic campaign of permanently
removing links program participants from their index. Altavista
has begun a similar program, although recent problems kept them
from executing it.

Don’t the operators of links programs know all this?
Of course they do, yet they continue to operate and proliferate.
Tobacco companies know cigarettes kill people, yet they continue
to sell them. I’m sure both would tout the “benefits” of their
product as a justification.